What We Learned Along the Way (18 page)

“There’s another one!” the doctor said. “Keep
pushing!” Joseph couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Jaime was
having twins. Her belly had been enormous, but twins? Why didn’t
they know sooner? Jaime was too caught up in the moment to realize
what was going on, but when she held the two babies in her arms,
she knew it was real. She was staring into the eyes of a baby girl
and a baby boy.

The doctor later told her that the two had
been curled up so tightly that they looked like one big baby on the
ultrasound. Their heartbeats were completely in sync so the heart
monitor couldn’t detect it either. It was a complete surprise to
everyone.

“You really didn’t know?” Joseph asked
later.

“I had no idea. I had noticed a lot of
kicking, but I just thought it was a busy baby. I can’t believe
they’re twins,” she said with tears in her eyes. Some of the tears
were tears of joy, but the rest of them were tears of frustration
and fear. She was worried enough about raising one baby on her own.
Now she had two.

Joseph held the boy while Jaime nursed the
girl. “I hope he doesn’t think I’m playing favorites. I just can’t
nurse them both,” she said, peeking over at her son.

“He’s fine. We’re over here chilling,” Joseph
said. He had put his kufi on top of the baby’s hat. “So, got any
names yet?” he asked.

“I was thinking of Hayyat for the girl and
Joseph for the boy,” she said, looking him straight in the
eyes.

“You want to name him after me?” Joseph was
shocked. “You sure you don’t want to name him after his father or
your father?”

“You’ve already done more for him that his
father ever will, and at this point I don’t really have a father of
my own, but if you don’t want me to, I can change it.”

“No, I would be honored,” Joseph said. He
looked at the baby who was now his namesake. He imagined what it
would be like to be a father to both babies and a husband to Jaime.
He had always wanted to marry Jaime, but he hadn’t quite imagined
it this way. We plan and God plans, he thought. And if this is His
plan, I accept it.

Malikah called Kalimah every chance she got,
but she hadn’t spoken to her all week. Thanks to her mother’s
nomination, Malikah was now on the family reunion planning
committee and it kept her very busy. She never knew it took so much
work and negotiation to decide something as simple as who was going
to bring the potato salad. After picking up the reunion t-shirts,
she decided to stop by Kalimah’s. Her house wasn’t too far from the
screen printing shop, so with a backseat full of bright green
“Derrick Family Reunion” tees, she snaked through the winding roads
on the way to her sister’s house.

She had only been there twice before, so she
wasn’t one hundred percent sure which streets to turn on. Kalimah
and Adam lived in Woodbine Square, a newly-developed neighborhood
full of huge houses and rich people. She loved looking at the
beautiful houses, but hated the streets. They always had such
stupid names. She figured all the good street names were already
taken. So when they built new houses, they were forced to give them
ridiculous addresses like 845 Blue Shutter Point. Why would anyone
name a street after blue shutters, and what was a point? She
preferred streets that actually ended in the words like “street” or
“road.”

Kalimah lived on Summerflower Circle. After a
few u-turns, Malikah found her way to Summerflower Lane, which she
hoped would turn into Summerflower Circle. It did. She couldn’t
recall her sister’s house number, but it was easy to find because
she remembered it was at the end of a dead end.

Malikah remembered the house being white, but
as she stood in front of it in the beaming sun, she saw it was a
really light yellow. She rang the doorbell and waited, but no
answer. She looked in the garage window and saw Kalimah’s car. She
tried the doorbell again. She was ready to give up when Kalimah
finally answered. She was sweating and had on workout gear.

“Hey girl, I’m right in the middle of a
workout,” Kalimah said, jogging in place. “What’s going on?”

“Not too much,” Malikah answered. “I was just
in the neighborhood. How have you been?” As her sister bopped up
and down, Malikah took a quick look at her arms, legs and back,
looking for signs of Adam. She didn’t see anything. That was a good
sign.

“I’ve been great. Follow me upstairs. I’ve
got to finish this.” Malikah followed her sister up the winding
staircase into a glass room full of workout equipment. Kalimah
jumped on the treadmill while Malikah checked out the room.

“This is really nice,” Malikah said as she
tried out some of the machines.

“I know. Adam had it installed a few months
ago. I love it. I basically live in here.”

“I see. You’re really toned. So, how is
Adam?” Malikah tried to indirectly bring up the topic.

“Things are so much better. I told you I
could work it out. We had a really long talk a few weeks ago,”
Kalimah panted.

“So, he hasn’t…” Malikah hoped she didn’t
have to finish her sentence.

“No, he hasn’t,” Kalimah said quickly.
“Adam’s not like that. He was just really stressed at work and it
didn’t help that I was nagging all the time. But now that I’ve
worked on my attitude, he’s so much better. I haven’t made him mad
in so long.” Kalimah sounded happy.

“Well, that sounds good, but what happens
when you do make him mad?” Malikah said softly. She hoped her
sister didn’t get upset with her again.

“I won’t,” Kalimah said nonchalantly.
“Working out is great for your mood. It’s like I’m always happy.
Mama should try it. She could use an attitude adjustment.” Malikah
smiled. Her sister looked and seemed happy, but she couldn’t help
but remember the big bruises she had just a few weeks ago. It was
good to hear that things had been working out, but she still felt
uneasy.

Just as Kalimah finished her workout, they
heard a door slam downstairs. “Adam’s home,” she said as she
hurried out of the room and down the stairs. “Hey baby,” she said
as she quickly folded up the blanket that was sprawled out on the
sofa.

“Don’t bother getting it now. You left it
there all day. A few more hours won’t hurt,” Adam said
sarcastically.

“I’ve just been busy today. I’m sorry, baby,”
she said as she tried to give him a kiss. He pushed her away.

“Busy doing what? You don’t have a job. You
don’t have any friends. What could you possibly be busy doing?” he
asked in an aggressive voice.

Kalimah was embarrassed. Malikah hadn’t
followed her downstairs, but she knew she could hear them. She
tried to calm her husband before he got out of control.

“You’re right. I was just being lazy, but
give me ten minutes to hop in the shower and then I can cook dinner
for you and Malikah. She’s right upstairs,” she said with just a
hint of attitude.

“Yeah, I’m right upstairs,” Malikah said from
the balcony. She had never stared anyone down so hard. Adam changed
his tone quickly.

“Malikah, how are you?” he said in an upbeat
voice. “I was wondering whose car that was out there. You staying
for dinner?” he asked as if he actually wanted her to say yes.

“Oh, of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the
world,” Malikah answered with a fake smile. Despite the feigned
cheerfulness, Kalimah could tell her sister was angry. She walked
up the stairs to take a shower and pulled Malikah into the bedroom
with her.

“Does he always talk to you like that?”
Malikah asked.

“Malikah, just let it go. He probably had a
rough day at work.”

“Good thing I’m here. Who knows what he would
have done or said if I wasn’t.”

“He wouldn’t have done anything. I told you
he’s not like that. That was just a really stressful time for him,”
Kalimah yelled from the bathroom. Malikah saw a photo album on top
of the TV and picked it up. It was full of her sister’s wedding
pictures.

“I never saw these,” Malikah said through the
door.

“What, the wedding pictures? I meant to make
copies for everyone, but I forgot.” Malikah looked through the
pictures. Kalimah looked gorgeous in them. That was the best and
most expensive wedding she had ever been to. Adam looked really
nice too. At the time, she thought Kalimah was the luckiest woman
alive to marry such a good-looking, rich man. She would have given
anything to switch places with her. Not anymore.

Kalimah made lasagna and Greek salad for
dinner. The food was delicious, but it was awkward for Malikah to
eat with Adam, knowing what she knew. She wanted to say something,
but she didn’t want to make things worse for Kalimah.

“You have some really nice pictures. I really
like the solo shots on the balcony,” Malikah said.

“Those are my favorites. We had a great
photographer,” Kalimah replied.

“They’re my favorites, too. You were so
radiant, honey,” Adam said as he grabbed his wife’s hand. If
Malikah hadn’t heard him yelling at her just an hour before, she
would have believed that he was sincere. “Kammy, let me apologize
for earlier. I didn’t mean to talk to you like that. I just had a
tough time at work. I love my job, but the politics of the whole
thing is another story. All I want to do is help people. Is that
too much to ask?” he said with a little chuckle.

He’s really putting it on thick, Malikah
thought to herself. She was just waiting on him to say he wanted to
end world hunger. The more he talked about himself, the more
disgusted Malikah became. She wanted to stay for dessert, but she
couldn’t take any more of his one-man show.

“I have to get those shirts home,” she said
as she cut a piece of cake and wrapped it up. “I’m sure the whole
reunion committee needs to inspect them.”

On the way home, Malikah thought about
Kalimah. She wondered how Adam was treating her now that they were
alone again. Even if he didn’t hit her ever again, he had no
business yelling at her like that. She couldn’t hold the secret
anymore. She had to talk to her mother.

“Have you talked to Kalimah lately,” Malikah
asked her mother later that night.

“Yes, I talked to her yesterday,” her mother
responded as she held up one of the reunion shirts. “Who chose this
color?”

“What did she say? How did she sound?”
Malikah asked, ignoring the question about the shirts.

“She sounded fine. Why are you asking all
these questions about your sister? She’s got a man. You need to
worry about yourself.”

“I’ve got a man, too. I guess you forgot
about Isaiah.”

“I’m talking about a real man that can put a
roof over your head, not some muscle head with a dream.”

Malikah ignored her mother’s comment. She
wanted to stay focused on Kalimah. “What do you think about Adam?”
she asked.

“I think the world of Adam. He’s literally
perfect. Handsome, wealthy, religious, and he treats your sister
like a queen,” her mother said with a smile.

“I’m not so sure about that last part. He
seems mean to me. I was over there today and he was yelling at her
for leaving a blanket on the sofa. He only stopped because he saw
me. I don’t like him talking to her like that.”

“Girl, stay out of married people’s business.
A little yelling never hurt anyone. I yell at your father all the
time.”

“But he never yells back. Daddy would never
talk to you the way I heard Adam talk to Kalimah.”

“You’re blowing things out of proportion.
Just wait until you get married, if that ever happens. You’ll see.
Marriage isn’t all fun and games,” her mother said.

Malikah felt like everything she told her
mother went in one ear and out the other. “But mama, he hit her,”
she blurted out. She didn’t want to tell her that part, but she
didn’t know what else to do to get her to realize how serious it
was.

Her mother looked shocked. “Malikah, I know
you’re jealous of your sister, but there’s no need for you to make
up lies. I didn’t think you would stoop that low.”

“I’m not lying!” Malikah protested.

“Have you seen him hit her?” her mother
asked.

“No, but I’ve seen…” Her mother cut her
off.

“This is really sad, that you would go so far
as to try to break up your sister’s marriage just because you can’t
find a good man.”

Malikah had never met anyone more stubborn.
“For the last time, I HAVE A MAN!” she yelled. “And you’re right.
It is sad, that you would rather believe that I’m trying to
sabotage my own sister’s marriage than to even entertain the
thought that your perfect son-in-law might not be so perfect. Fine,
forget I said anything, but when she hobbles in here with more
bruises or broken bones, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Malikah
walked out of the room.

“And don’t go worrying your father with this
mess. I don’t want to hear any more of this,” her mother
yelled.

Malikah was furious. She couldn’t believe the
things her mother said. At times like this, she would usually call
Mariam, but she still didn’t have a number for her. She could send
an email, but it just wasn’t the same. She needed to talk to
someone. She knew she couldn’t tell Isaiah the details, but she
figured talking to him would still help, at least a little. She
drove to his house.

Even though they had been together for more
than six months, she had only been to his house a few times. It was
a pretty small and shabby apartment and she knew he was
embarrassed. Every time she tried to come over, he’d just agree to
meet her somewhere. This time she wasn’t going to give him a chance
to say no.

The holes in the wall were covered with
posters and his sofa looked like it was 20 or 30 years old, easy.
Even though the place wasn’t in the best condition, she liked that
he at least tried. He had a few candles and incense here and there.
In the dark, with the candles burning, the place didn’t look so
bad. She told Isaiah about her argument with her mother, but she
didn’t mention Adam.